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Monday, 5 June 2017

SWAZILAND QUIZZED ON TERROR LAW

A United Nations group has
asked Swaziland to account for the number of arrests made under its anti-terror
and sedition laws.

Coincidentally, it comes at
a time that a Bill to amend the controversial Suppression of Terrorism Act
(STA) was pulled from the Swazi Senate.

Swaziland ratified the United Nations International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) in 2004 and its initial report
on progress was due by 2005, but 13 years later it has failed to report. After
such a long delay, the Human Rights Committee (HRC) has scheduled a review of
the kingdom in the absence of report. This
review will take place in July 2017.

The United Nations group is
asking a series of questions across a wide range of issues relating to human
rights in the kingdom ruled by King Mswati III as an absolute monarch.

Both the Sedition and
Subversive Activities Act (SSAA) and the STA have been used to silence
criticism of the King’s regime. Groups that advocate for democracy have been
banned under the STA.

Now, the HRC is asking the
Swazi Government to account for its anti-terrorism laws. It asks Swaziland to report
on the progress made to narrow the definition of terms such as “terrorist act”.
It also asks how the proposed amendment to the STA will provide access to
effective legal remedies.

It also asks Swaziland to
provide detailed information on the number of investigations, detentions,
prosecutions, acquittals and convictions under both the STA and SSAA.

On Wednesday (31 May 2017)
the Suppression of Terrorism (Amendment) Bill was pulled out of Senate.

The Swazi
Observer
newspaper reported that this was done by the Minister of Labour and
Social Security Winnie Magagula. She said government wanted a bit more
time to amend some sections in the legislation, but no details were given.

It came ahead of a meeting
of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) which has been closely
monitoring Swaziland’s lack of progress in human rights.

In 2014 the United States withdrew
trading privileges from Swaziland under the Africa Growth
Opportunity Act (AGOA) because
the kingdom had not fulfilled all the requirements of the programme, including
respect for human rights.

The US
wanted Swaziland to implement the full passage of amendments to the
Industrial Relations Act; full passage of amendments to the STA; full passage
of amendments to the Public Order Act; full passage of amendments to sections
40 and 97 of the Industrial Relations Act relating to civil and criminal
liability to union leaders during protest actions; and establishing a code of
conduct for the police during public protests.

Both the STA and the SSAA have
been criticised by global human rights groups as oppressive.

Amnesty International in April 2015 renewed its criticism
of Swaziland for the ‘continued persecution of peaceful political opponents and
critics’ by the King and his authorities.

The human rights organisation called for both Acts to
be scrapped or drastically rewritten.

It said the Swazi authorities were using the Acts, ‘to
intimidate activists, further entrench political exclusion and to restrict the
exercise of the rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful
assembly.’